"I knew what was going to happen. The moment Philippe got the ball out of his feet I was shouting 'shoot'. He did the same at Bolton and Blackburn last season. We all knew what was going to happen," the Belgian told the Liverpool Echo.

"I see that quality from him every day in training. That great talent is something he was born with. He also works his socks off for the team.

"Hopefully we'll see a lot more of that from him this season."

Liverpool's victory was in contrast to their last visit to the Potteries, when Brendan Rodgers' side were humbled 6-1 on the final day of last season.

Mignolet felt the improved performance just three months later showed the strength of character in the Reds squad, with a resolve that could serve them well during the Premier League campaign.

The keeper was also impressed with the way his teammates dealt with the physical challenges thrown at them and credited the new signings for their immediate impact on the side from front to back.

"We had to dig deep. Everyone worked hard and we know that in tight games we have players who can make the difference. You know that whenever you go away in the Premier League, it's going to be tough, especially at Stoke," he added.

"The clean sheet was very satisfying. If we can defend well then we know we have the attacking quality going forward to score goals. We didn't give much away and defended really well. Unlike the game here three months ago, we restricted them to very few chances and coped well with the pressure.

"We knew before the game what we would be facing. You have to be ready for that physical challenge and we showed we could handle it. Everyone made a contribution starting with Christian Benteke, who was up front winning the second balls and battling to the very end.

"It was a very different dressing room afterwards compared to our last visit here. Nobody wanted to go back to that day. Everyone is very pleased this time. But it's only the first game of the season and now we need to make sure we build on that."

Liverpool will get the chance to do just that when Bournemouth visit Anfield next Monday (17 August), before making the trip to Arsenal a week later.